When we understand the cause of a situation, the energy changes and begins to move in a different direction. . . . When we accidentally touch a hot stove, would we rather not feel the pain and let our hand be severely burned? The pain we feel is a warning, even a blessing, as it tries to protects us.
So it is with . . . painful emotions. Their job is to warn us, to rouse us, to help us to act and to move. Like the burning stove, the energy of Conflict is hot, but it is also true. Inside the coarse exterior of a coconut is sweet milk. Hidden within the rough outer shell of Conflict is the potential for growth, change, and deep nourishment.
— Lewis Richmond, Work as a Spiritual Practice